Ed Balls' wife Yvette Cooper says his Strictly stint is down to a 'really, really long mid-life crisis'

Yvette Cooper has opened up about her husband Ed Balls' unexpected Strictly Come Dancingsuccess, putting his stint on the show down to a mid-life crisis that has seen the former Labour MP take up the piano, marathon running and baking as well as "fake tans and samba dancing".

"It's become a family joke about what Ed will come up with next and whether he will end up buying something crazy like a motorbike," she told The Mail on Sunday.

Former shadow foreign secretary and former shadow home secretary Yvette added: "Ed never does anything by halves, so of course that means serious debate and arguments in politics just as it means fun in Strictly."

Guy LevyBBC

Yvette went on to say that while the public might have been shocked by Ed's surprisingly outrageous side, we should all have been expecting it.

"While Strictly has been a revelation for people who didn't know him well, the clues were probably there all along.

"Even as an MP he did some wacky photo ops – on a swing with Andy Burnham, playing dinosaurs with Rachel Reeves, or dragging Ed Miliband into Greggs to bulk buy sausage rolls."

But Yvette doesn't reckon that she and Ed will be taking his new moves into their everyday life.

"I've learnt a few Charleston steps but there's a lot Ed's going to have to teach me," she said.

"Salsa and samba would be fun, but I don't fancy taking my chances on those lifts in the American Smooth."

BBC

One good thing that's come out of Ed's Strictly fever, though, is the improvement in his fitness. Yvette said: "Rehearsing and training up to eight hours a day has certainly taken the pounds off, so it's a very good reason to do the tour in the New Year.

"I wish I could say I had been inspired to get fit at the same time. Instead I've just been enjoying sitting down in the Strictly audience cheering Ed on."

And as for Ed delighting the public by appearing on any other reality shows?

"Thank goodness Dancing on Ice has finished as that would be asking for trouble," Yvette said. "I'm A Celebrity... is definitely a step too far – and anyway he's scared of rats."

So no Balls on our TV screens for the foreseeable future - well, unless those Celebrity Big Brother rumours turn out to be true.

DIGITAL SPY, PART OF THE HEARST UK ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK
Digital Spy participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.